Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart is asking for millions of dollars to hire more deputies next year, even as other county services are facing cutbacks and layoffs.
His proposed budget for 2005 would add 97 deputies, a strike team for combating the drug methamphetamine, patrol car video cameras and other new services. Total cost: $17.1 million.
Bart’s request comes as the county is studying ways to cope with a projected budget shortfall that could reach $16.6 million next year.
The sheriff doesn’t expect to get everything he is asking for.
“The council gets all upset and says I’m asking for the moon, but this is what we need to protect public safety,” Bart said. “That should be government’s first priority. If you spend all your money on that, I think that’s justifiable.”
Bart’s budget request comes after weeks of talk about the county’s money woes. Snohomish County is facing troubled financial waters in 2005 and the years that follow.
A recent five-year financial forecast says county government will face growing deficits if it doesn’t take steps to rein in spending. The biggest hit is expected in 2009, when the budget deficit is predicted to reach almost $40 million.
The primary cause is the cost of running and operating the new expanded jail.
County officials have repeatedly said that tough choices will need to be made when the 2005 budget is prepared, and some, including County Executive Aaron Reardon, have warned of layoffs.
“We really can’t afford to do a business-as-usual budget,” said county finance director Roger Neumaier.
County Councilman Dave Gossett said the 2005 spending plan will be the toughest budget to pull together in more than a decade.
Still, Gossett said he could see Bart’s logic in putting the wide range of sheriff’s office budget items on the table. It will give officials a chance to rank the importance of each and compare programs. There are nice-to-haves, and must-haves, Gossett said.
Bart’s total budget request is $56.3 million, up from $37.9 million this year. Most of the money is earmarked for adding staff.
How many additional deputies Snohomish County needs, and how to pay for them, has been a debate that heats up each year as the county prepares its general fund budget.
“I’ve been singing the same song since 1995,” Bart said. “This shouldn’t be a surprise to the council.”
The sheriff’s office has 256 deputies, including more than 70 added since 1996. Under sheriff’s office staffing projections, the agency needs at least 52 more patrol deputies.
Deputies already respond to 40 percent of the highest-priority emergency calls within five minutes, a Herald analysis of sheriff’s office 911 calls found. Deputies are on the scene within 10 minutes 70 percent of the time, a response that is on a par with King County.
Bart said his goal is to get a response time of five minutes or less countywide.
“At minimum, what I’m hoping is that we don’t lose anyone. I don’t want our service level to go backward,” he said. “We’re already running at 110 percent, and it’s taking a toll on the people on the street.”
Work on this year’s budget has just begun. Reardon is expected to present the 2005 budget by the end of September. The County Council will then make revisions prior to adopting the spending plan, usually in November.
Law-and-justice programs account for about 70 percent of the county’s annual general government budget.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@ heraldnet.com.
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